Somewhere, Somehow
by theysayimspitfire
Summary: Any Saint knows their boss has always got their back, but what happens when she goes missing, would the Saints Return the favor? ZinyakxBossxJohnny.
1. Rewind

"Quite the entrance."

"I figured you had a flair for the dramatic."

"Oh, you know me so well."

Erica, the infamous leader of the Third Street Saints stood firm in front of the intergalactic warlord Zinyak. The woman had killed countless people, stood at the top of Stilwater and Steelport, and ran an entire country. Nothing could compare to the rage she felt, staring at the person who destroyed it all, the person who had taken all her work, all her struggles and made them _nothing_.

"I'm really going to miss these bonding sessions when I kill you."

The alien smirked, "Quite the contrary, you won't even remember them, my dear."

Erica's confident demeanor fell. "What are you talking about fuckface?"

Zinyak turned to his servant who stood hesitantly beside his throne.

"Zinjai."

"Yes, your excellency?" the timid alien responded. Erica watched as he approached his master carefully.

"Open the rift."

"Of course, your excellency." Zinjai made breif eye contact with the woman before doing as he was told.

Dozens of transparent glowing screens circled Zinyak. He reached forward, tapping a small image in front of him, causing it to enlarge. With another tap, Erica cried out in agony, as electricity pulsated through the metal power armor.

"What the hell!" she managed, tearing off the helmet, her red hair falling around her face.

"I must say, I'm rather surprised you didn't see that coming." Zinyak said, stepping down from his throne. He lifted the woman by her throat, her feet dangling below her. He had watched her fight, watched her cry, watched her lose everything. And through it all, she had never ceased to amaze him.

"You should be thanking me, Erica." he said with confidence.

A red portal appeared next to them, and in a quick turn, both Zinyak and Erica entered it, disappearing into thin air.

Meanwhile, Johnny Gat sat in the Saints HQ, surrounded by his fellow gang members. "And that's how I took over Steelport."

The phrase triggered confused looks, panic even.

"What the hell?"

"The fuck?"

Everyone stood. How could this be possible?

"Kenzie are we in another simulation? We were just on the ship!" Asha said as she drew her weapon, prepared to fight off any Zin.

"What about the boss?"

The room erupted in chaos, one moment they were on their way to backup the boss against Zinyak, in another, they were having a casual conversation in Steelport. Peirce turned and eyed the city through the penthouse windows. "You guys might want to look at this..."

Outside, the city was buzzing with life. Though familiar land marks were scattered across their view. Trophies, as some Saints might have put it.

"This is Steelport...after we defeated Stag." Shuandi said, "We must be in another simulation."

Kenzie shook her head, looking up from her laptop. "That would be the preferred situation...it looks like we've broken out of a linear time sequence into a twisted version of itself."

Johnny Gat looked up, "Does anyone wanna explain what pycho scientist just said?"

"She's talking about time travel." Matt Miller muttered.

"Are you fucking kidding me, how far back are we, and what about the boss?"

"Considering she isn't here with us means that either she was left behind in previous events or..."

"Or what Kenzie?"

"Or the past has been written to cause a consequential change in events that would remove her presence from this very moment."

"And how do you know for sure this isn't a simulation?" Peirce asked.

"Simulations are repeatable, they loop, from my readings here, our passage of time isn't looping, and I would have picked up signatures if it was."

"Oh shit." Gat interrupted. In front of him, hanging along the wall, were various news articles, the largest revealing picture of Johnny Gat standing in front of Steelport's town hall, with the headline "SAINTS LEADER DECLARE CITY STATE".

"That isn't good..." Matt turned to Kenzie, "If Gat is the leader of the Saints, then where is Erica?"


	2. Pause

For the next two days Kenzie and Matt searched relentlessly for a solution. As they had done their work, Peirce and Shuandi had completed various tests for the masterminds, reporting their findings with eagerness. They had determined little, only that they were not in a Simulation, that this was real, that somehow they had all been sent to a time and place where Erica was not the leader of the Saints. To worsen the situation, they could not find any signs of the boss at all.

Johnny had been quiet for the most part, severely beating anyone who crossed him in the slightest. He couldn't believe that for the second time, his lover had been taken. If reliving Aisha's death didn't change him, this did.

But, even he knew, he had to put those feelings aside, Erica was more than just his girlfriend, she was their leader, and he wasn't the only one that needed her back, as far as he knew, the entire planet of earth did. His anger always multiplied when he saw Matt and Asha sitting close to each other, Matt talking about his favorite TV hero, Nyteblade, or explaining details of advanced technology. And while it was obvious Asha could care less about his ramblings, she still nodded and smiled, not because she agreed, but because she wanted him to know someone cared enough to listen.

And Johnny missed that. He missed the woman who indulged in his company, who kept him on the straight and narrow when he would have surely strayed. Instead, he sat alone, watching as everyone once again tried picking up the pieces to the only life the Saints knew.

"Alright, I've found what we will need to get to Zinyak."

Everyone gathered around Kenzie and her computers. Webs of cords and monitors stacked upon each other filled half the room, lighting up the penthouse with a cool blue glow. Appearing on the screens were multiple angles of security footage of the near by army base.

"The military has been working on portal technology for the last decade, if you can retrieve the portal base and the electrical magnetic field modifiers I can set up a portal to Zinyak's ship."

"Wait - how are we gonna find Zinyak if he hasn't invaded yet?" Perice said.

"I predicted his invasion years before he showed up. I can use the information I've already compiled to seek out his ships signature. Since I know what it looks like, it should be easy enough."

"Sounds good enough for me, let's go." Johnny beckoned the others to follow.

"Take this with you, I'll need to give you specific directions in handling the parts."Kenzie tossed a thin silver device to Gat, "Good luck."

Once Shuandi, Peirce, Asha and Johnny loaded into a car, they began weaving through the streets towards the base. It all seemed so surreal, people who had died, were alive, the city seemed to have suffered more damage than they remembered. Shuandi knew that if anyone were to be more destructive than Erica, it would have been Johnny, the half standing buildings and damaged streets confirmed her thoughts.

As the military base enlarged in their view, Peirce took the wheel, speeding up the vehicle. Johnny retrieved a rifle and took down the guards with precise head shots, allowing them to break through the metal chained fence.

"The modifiers have to be kept somewhere cool, so you'll probably have to go underground."

"You wait till now to tell us that!" Shuandi shouted over the sound of gun fire.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was too busy trying to figure out how to time travel to save our boss who was kidnapped by aleins!"

"Could you for once stop mourning your loss of free time!" Asha responded.

"Stop your bitchin' and keep killing!" Johnny shouted, quieting them all. How did Erica handle them?

"Alright, I'm seeing a high energy reading right below you. The modifiers are probably -"

As they gunned down the last of the soldiers in view, Kenzie's voice was buried within a loud static, nearby car alarms were triggered, and the air suddenly became cold.

"What the fuck?"

With a beam of red light, a large glowing doorway appeared in front of them, from it emerged the epicenter of their chaos. Erica stood, a different person than they had remembered. She wore clothing of the Zin empire, a red cape behind her and a brass spear in her hand.

"Well hello, Saints."


	3. Preset Glitch

No one knew what to say. To assume she had betrayed them and joined Zinyak was ridiculous. The question of whether they were awake in reality had already been answered.

So how could they explain why their leader, was referring to them as though they were the enemy.

"Boss! What the hell is going on?" Shuandi asked, her voice unsure of her own question.

"It would do you well to keep silent, Saint."

Shaundi lowered her brow, she had never seen her friend act this way. Sure, she had seen her as an overly confident egomaniac, but the superiority in her voice was new, it made her sound...like Zinyak.

Erica walked past the group, her boots clicking across the black asphalt, she narrowed her eyes at the warehouse. In a quick movement she swung her staff, red light moved through the air, hitting the building, turning what was once a solid structure into nothing but ash.

"Oh shit! Why did you do that!?"

Erica turned to Peirce. "Tisk, tisk, such language."

"I'll kill that wad of shit Zinyak-"

"I said silence!" Erica pointed her weapon at Johnny. "You will not speak of my husband in such a manner."

Shuandi saw it before anyone else, and by time the rest of the group noticed the flash in his eyes it was to late.

"Oh, fuck no!" Johnny moved forward, knocking the metal aside, grabbing Erica's arm and twisting her around into a tight choke hold.

"She doesn't even know who we are." Asha watched as Erica struggled, "Kenzie, can you send some type of transport?"

The Saints couldn't help but become worried at Erica's lack of skill. She would never be restrained to easily.

"Oh you won't be needing any of that, we were just on our way, weren't we my dear."

Zinyak had emerged from the portal, a knowing smile on his face. He had finally broken the Saints after all the trouble they had caused him. He couldn't decide what excited him more, knowing that he had won, or knowing that without their leader they would never be able to stop him.

Several Zin solders emerged behind him, pointing their guns at Gat's head. Realizing the woman between them would not deter their motive, he let Erica go. The brunette ran to Zinyak's side, terrified. Johnny clenched his fists as she grabbed the alien's arm for comfort before disappearing within the light.

"What the fuck did you do!"

"I saved the poor girl's life." Zinyak said, "The life of a Saint destroyed a once docile and intelligent creature."

"Come a little closer, and I'll show you fucking docile."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm a bit busy today. I only came to ensure you wouldn't try anything idotic, as you humans usually do. Rest assured, your planet will be spared with my departure."

"That is not who she is." Shaundi seethed. "She would never run off like that – never fight like that!"

"Like I said, docile and intelligent. Don't be to disappointed, I have consolation prizes." Zinyak held out his over sized palms, revealing six small glowing cubes. "Inside is the very fabric of time, yet not sewn. Do with them as you wish. If you attempt to find me or Zinevera I'll reconsider my descion not to blow this miserable planet to bits."

The giant tossed the objects onto the ground, turning into the portal as Erica had, his soldiers kept their guns raised until they too disappeared. Johnny stepped forward and kicked the cubes, jumping back as if they would explode.

"This is bullshit, no portal, the boss is Zinyaks mail order bride and now we got these cubes that we don't even know what they do."

"Just bring them and shut the fuck up. I'm gonna kill every last one of those ugly fuckers."

Asha shook her head as Johnny walked off, Peirce following him, cubes in hand. "What do you think those things are?"

Shuandi looked to Asha, "God knows...how are we gonna get Erica back without a portal? Do we even know what will happen if we do? I mean - he did say alternate timeline."

"Who knows. We just need to make sure things stay under control here until Kenzie and Matt can figure out a solution."

Aboard the Zin's ship, Erica observed the blue planet, they had come so close to it, but her husband had made it clear they were not to approach is using anything other than portals.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to let you go alone."

She turned to find Zinyak, a giant wine glass in hand.

"They acted as if they knew me. Maybe it's because I'm like them..."The girl touched her face. She had never come in contact with another human before, she only knew what Zinyak had told her about them.

"Do you see why I took you away from that miserable planet? They destroyed their culture, leaving those foul mouthed beings behind."

"But..why me...there were billions to choose from..."

The warlord eyed her carefully. In his mind, images of her determined face and fierce perseverance flashed quickly. After a moment he answered. "Of all the earthlings, you were the most carefully created human I had ever seen."

The answer was confusing to say the least. Carefully created...? Of all her thoughts one seemed to surface, it was an aggravating stubborn thought, that refused to go away.

"It doesn't make any fucking sense..." she muttered. How could he have individualized her unless he had observed her for a long time.

"Excuse me?"

She turned and faced him. "You're lying."

"Zinjai."

Zinyak's servant appeared, grabbing Erica's arm, she fought back, kneeing him in the chest, and shoving him away, as she turned to run, Zinyak wrapped his hand around her small neck, causing the girl's body to go immediately limp.

"I told you not to fail me Zinjai, why does she remember?"

Zinjai cowered, "I don't know! Her memories and personalty haven't completely changed yet, it - it might take some time."

Zinyak shoved the girl into his underling's arms. "Fix it. Oh - and Zinjai. Don't forget. There's always a simulation that needs testing."

The alien gulped as he watched his superior walk away.


	4. Static

Pierce poked the glowing cubes with a chopstick.

"Don't do that!" Matt said, biting into some chow mein. "We have no idea what those are capable of."

"He's right, we must remain vigilant." Asha stated.

Pierce rolled his eyes, shoving sweet and sour pork into his mouth, chewing slowly. He knew the longer he chewed, the less likely he would say something stupid. He couldn't be to offended however, everyone was on edge, and Johnny's cold demeanor made everything worse. The room had been extremely tense since he declared that one fuck up would mean their heads above his fireplace.

"I still don't get how Asha is here but King and Keith aren't - I mean at this point in time we don't even know this broad."

"Watch your tongue", the super spy spat.

Pierce lowered his eyebrow, about to speak, when a certain redhead interrupted him. Angry, he quickly scooped one of the cubes into his pocket before getting up to leave the room.

"Oh. My. God. I'll explain this one last time." Kenzie looked up briefly from her laptop, an irritated glare thrown at Pierce as he left, her voice getting louder so she could be heard. "Zinyak is an intergalactic warlord with the technology and mental capacity to bend the laws of time and space. Any rules that may have applied to us humans, mean nothing to him."

"Actually this is about the time I first came into contact with her." Matt said, careful not to anger Kenzie. "So I did have a connection."

"What about Oleg and Zimos? We are gonna need all the help we can get to keep a hold of Steelport _and_ take Zinyak down." Shuandi said.

"The boss - I mean Johnny - is going to explain things to them."

"That's insane, Johnny has no idea who they are."

"Which is...exactly why Johnny should be the one to do it!" Matt interrupted enthusiastically. "I mean, they will know who he is...right?"

Matt was careful to hide his motive of avoiding Zimos and Oleg. He wasn't sure if Oleg would remember that he had been a part of the syndicate, and her certainly wouldn't want Zimos to know of his association to Viola and her sister.

Kenzie sighed. "Yes, Zimos and Oleg would be aligned to the Saints and would acknowledge Johnny as the boss, but Johnny will be meeting them for the first time."

"What about Viola?"

"For some reason, I haven't been able to locate her yet."

Shuandi's cellphone lit up, 'Tipsy' blaring from it's small speakers. "Oh yea, such a good idea.",she muttered. "What's up Johnny?"

"You expect fucking T-Pain and the white Hulk to help us?! Are you fucking kidding me?"

Johnny had entered the club with high expectations. He had figured Oleg would be a big man, but saw almost no advantage to working with Zimos.

"Relax, they really came though when we took down the syndicate."

Johnny sighed and looked back through the doorway watching as the two men engaged in a casual conversation.

"So have you thought about that offer?" the auto-tuned voice sang.

"I have, and I must thoroughly decline. For I have feelings for a particular female that I must focus my attention on." the giant Russian said.

"Whatever you say, man."

Johnny rubbed his temples, these were the men that were supposed to help him take down Zinyak?

"You sure about that Shaundi?"

"Just give them a chance, plus we need them, Erica trusted them."

"Fine. But you'd better be right about this."

The man hung up his cellphone and rejoined the other men.

"So you folks like scifi movies?" Johnny asked, knowing that they would never believe his story. Hell, half the time he didn't even believe what was happening. He wondered where Erica was, and if she was being treated well...

"Zinjai?"

"Yes your highness?"

Erica kept her focus on the ceiling above, colorful nebulae passing by. "Why must I do this again?"

Zinjai looked over the woman, she had once been so powerful looking, muscle under her fair skin, but now, she was thin and frail. Zinyak demanded that she never be able to rebel against him, and Zinjai had ensured that in both mental and physical aspects. Even is she could remember how to fight, she wouldn't have the strength to.

"You are unlike us" he began, waving his hand through the air, a familiar red screen provided his victims vitals. "to stay alive, we alter your bodily functions to provide the immunity required."

"And this is achieved through my mind?"

Zinjai nodded as the woman succumbed to the drugs he had injected, his screen indicated that it was ready to begin the procedure.

It was impossible to erase a humans memories, he had found, but it was simple to make the mind reject them, hide them so deep within the brain that nothing could bring them back. He hadn't pushed them back enough the first time, but he would not fail a second, he knew if he did Zinyak would not only torture him, but take his life.

And how would he ever help Erica regain her strength to lead the Zin empire if that happened?


End file.
